December 01, 2012

Alabama Defeats Georgia: The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Georgia Bulldogs, 32-28, in the SEC championship game and will advance to play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the BCS crown. Georgia had the ball inside the Alabama 10 in the final seconds, but quarterback Aaron Murray's pass to the end zone was tipped and caught by Chris Conley inside the five with five seconds left, leaving no time for another play. Alabama is making its third trip to the BCS title game in four years. Georgia's bid for its first national championship since 1980 falls short.

Wow. That was one of the most heart-wrenching losses I can remember. As the ball is caught by Conley, it slowly starts to click... Oh shit... Can he make it out of bounds? Not a chance in hell. Amazing that getting the ball with 1:30 left. Making 2 long passes to give hope that a comeback isn't just some foreign hope, but a reality right in front of my eyes. A moment in history that all Bulldog fans will be able to look back on and remember when Georgia brought down the mighty Bama. Murray's inability to win The Big One forgotten. No recollection that one of the most talented defenses around couldn't stop the run. An underthrown ball at the end of the first half resulting in potentially lost points and an opposing field goal, no longer remembered. Gurshall made reality instead of a maybe as they head to the NCG. And then. With a deafening thud, the game is over. A moment of "Wait, was that it? All that work and the game ends on that play?!?" That moment when legends a are made, a legacy cemented in action, the chance to erase memories of seasons with uber-talented teams not living up to their potential. As the game clock ticking to zero sinks in.

I'm glad the Dawgs stuck in there and made it a game. But damn was that some porous run defense. Run. Run. Run. Run. Play action. That as much as anything else let Bama stay in the game and then take over in the 2nd half.

They don't coach you to drop the ball in those situations. Or perhaps they do, but it's not something you can actually get into receivers' heads.

The closeness of the result makes the Sugar Bowl selection a wee bit more interesting, though I think Florida may still get the nod there, mainly because sitting around helps you more in the polls than nearly winning.

They don't coach you to drop the ball in those situations. Or perhaps they do, but it's not something you can actually get into receivers' heads.

They shouldn't have to. If the quarterback is throwing it to a receiver who's patently not going to be able to get out of bounds, the receiver has to assume that the ball is coming to him for a reason and catch it. Murray should have spiked it or tossed it out of bounds rather than dump it up the middle with four seconds left.

That's what they were saying about the #1-#2 Ohio State-Michigan three-point game back before the SEC's streak started, recall. Let's wait until the actual championship gets played before we declare it done.

Ya, it looked like the throw was intended to be a back-shoulder throw in the endzone but was indeed tipped. Story is the play was called as Murray was running up to the line. If that's true, I don't find fault with not spiking the ball. Just another great defensive play by Bama when it mattered most.